1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a one-piece header assembly for connecting implantable medical devices to a body organ intended to be assisted by the medical device. The header assembly includes terminal blocks which connect directly to feedthrough wires extending from inside the medical device to a conductor leading to the body organ or tissue being assisted.
2. Prior Art
Header assemblies for implantable medical devices generally comprise feedthrough conductors in the form of pins or wires connected to the internal components of the medical device. The feedthrough wires extend through a wall of the medical device housing, such as a lid, and are electrically insulated therefrom by a ceramic-to-metal seal, and the like. Electrical continuity is established by connecting intermediate conductor wires between the feedthrough wires and connector blocks in the header assembly. Examples of this type of header assembly are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,254,775 to Langer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,673 to Kinney et al., 4,764,132 to Stutz, Jr., 5,282,841 to Szyszkowski and 5,336,246 to Dantanarayana.
The intermediate conductor wires represent an electrical connection that could fail through improper connection, corrosion, breakage, and the like. The header assemblies of the present invention eliminate the intermediate conductors. Instead, the feedthrough wires from the medical device connect directly to terminal blocks in the header assembly. This is a more reliable construction than those of the conventional designs.